Texas is poised for a significant overhaul of its telemarketing regulations with the anticipated enactment of Senate Bill 140 (“SB140”). Awaiting Governor Abbott’s signature and scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2025, if enacted, SB140 will expand the scope of telemarketing regulation, introduce robust new consumer litigation rights, and impose some of the nation’s harshest penalties for noncompliance. Businesses marketing to Texas consumers—by phone, text, or multimedia message—should prepare for a new era of heightened risk and regulatory scrutiny.

What is in the Law?

Expansion of the Definition of Telemarketing Communications: SB140 broadens the definition of “telephone call” and “telephone solicitation.” The law will explicitly encompass text messages, image messages, and virtually any other transmission intended to sell goods or services, in addition to traditional voice calls. Marketing strategies that include Short Message Service (“SMS”), Multimedia Messaging Service (“MMS”), or similar campaigns will soon be subject to the same strict standards as voice calls. As a result, compliance failures in text or multimedia outreach could trigger the same penalties as non-compliant robocalls.

Private Right of Action Under the DTPA: SB140 introduces a new private right of action under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (“DTPA”) for violations of core telemarketing requirements. This includes failing to comply with call time restrictions, failing to register as a telemarketer, and failing to honor opt-out requests. The use of an automatic dialing announcing device (“ADAD”)—Texas’s term for autodialers and robocall systems—will also be enforceable under the DTPA. Consumers will be able to seek both economic damages and damages for mental anguish, significantly increasing potential exposure in litigation.

Unlimited Consumer Recovery and Serial Litigation Risk: SB140 allows consumers to recover damages for each violation, regardless of whether they have previously recovered for similar violations. This opens the door to serial litigation, enabling consumers to bring repeated actions for ongoing or repeated violations with no cap on recoveries. For businesses, this means that a single consumer could initiate multiple lawsuits, each carrying the potential for significant statutory damages.

Significant Financial Exposure for Noncompliance: The financial risks associated with noncompliance are substantial. Texas already imposes some of the highest penalties in the country for telemarketing violations, with statutory damages ranging from $500 to $5,000 per violation. With the new amendments, even technical missteps or isolated errors could result in considerable liability, especially given the possibility of treble damages for knowing or intentional violations under the DTPA.

Compliance Strategies and Best Practices

Given these sweeping changes, businesses should promptly review and update their telemarketing compliance programs. This includes auditing consent practices to ensure valid, documented consent for all forms of outreach, including texts and image messages. Disclosure procedures should be reviewed and updated, and opt-out mechanisms should be reliable and prompt. Businesses using autodialers or automated messaging should assess their practices for compliance with both the telemarketing statute and the DTPA, given the heightened risk of private litigation and the potential for mental anguish damages.

SB140 reinforces the importance of Texas’s telemarketing registration requirements, which have increasingly been the subject of recent litigation. Businesses should ensure they are properly registered before engaging in any covered telemarketing activities and have robust systems in place to honor opt-out requests and comply with call time restrictions.

Staff training and ongoing compliance monitoring will be important. Documenting all consent, registration, and opt-out activity will be essential for defending against potential claims. With SB140 expected to make Texas a new epicenter for telemarketing litigation, businesses should prepare for increased scrutiny and the real possibility of class action exposure.

Conclusion: A New Era for Telemarketing in Texas

SB140 represents a shift in Texas telemarketing law, with potentially far-reaching implications for any business that markets to Texas consumers. If enacted, the law’s effective date of September 1, 2025, leaves a narrow window for businesses to review and improve their compliance programs. The risks of noncompliance are steep, and the litigation environment is about to become significantly more challenging. Now is the time for businesses to act and ensure robust compliance in anticipation of this new regulatory landscape.